(CNN) — A young woman who broadcast the beating and racial taunting of a man on Facebook Live has been arrested with three others in connection with the gruesome attack, Chicago police said Wednesday.

The disturbing 30-minute video shows a man tied up and his mouth covered, cowering in the corner of a room. His attackers laugh and shout "f*ck Donald Trump" and "f*ck white people" as they kick and punch him.

The video shows someone cutting into his scalp with a knife, leaving a visibly bald patch.

Police said the victim is an 18-year-old with special needs. Officers found the disoriented young man wandering a Chicago street "in crisis" Tuesday afternoon.

He was so traumatized that it took most of the night for him to calm down so he was able to talk to police, Capt. Steven Sesso said.

The suspects, two men and two women, all 18, are in custody awaiting formal charges, which are expected to be filed Thursday.

Hate crime charges under consideration

The victim knew at least one of his accused attackers from school, Cmdr. Kevin Duffin said. Though he may have voluntarily gotten into a van with the group, police are considering kidnapping charges.

Because the victim is white and the people in the video are black, police also are investigating whether hate crime charges are appropriate, Duffin said.

"Although they are adults, they're 18. Kids make stupid decisions -- I shouldn't call them kids; they're legally adults, but they're young adults, and they make stupid decisions," Duffin said.

"That certainly will be part of whether or not ... we seek a hate crime, to determine whether or not this is sincere or just stupid ranting and raving."

It's possible the racially charged statements were little more than people "ranting about something they think might make a headline," Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said.

He said he did not believe the attack was politically motivated.

"It's sickening," he said. "It makes you wonder what would make individuals treat somebody like that."

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi emphasized Thursday that the investigation has so far not revealed a racial or political motive.

The incident comes as Chicago draws intense scrutiny for a grim milestone: 762 homicides in 2016. Johnson commended the patrol officers for attending to the victim in distress and following the case through. "You hear the narrative that police are backing down and not doing their jobs; this is a perfect example of them doing their jobs," he said.

Facebook confirmed that it pulled the original video from the suspect's Facebook profile.

"We do not allow people to celebrate or glorify crimes on Facebook and have removed the original video for this reason. In many instances, though, when people share this type of content, they are doing so to condemn violence or raise awareness about it. In that case, the video would be allowed."

According to its community standards, the company removes content, disables accounts and works with law enforcement in cases of a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety.

Facebook users also can report offensive material to staff dedicated to responding to such reports. If a live stream starts blowing up, staffers monitor it for possible violations and interrupt it if need be.

The victim's parents reported him missing Monday, telling police they had not heard from their son since dropping him off Saturday at a McDonald's in the Chicago suburb of Streamwood.

Police in Streamwood said that after the man was reported missing, his parents began getting text messages from someone "claiming to be holding him captive."

Officers investigating the texts "discovered a Facebook video depicting (the man) being verbally and physically abused." It's unclear what alerted the police to check Facebook.

Soon after they discovered the video, Streamwood investigators said they were contacted by Chicago police, saying they had found the missing man.

On Tuesday Chicago officers responded to a battery call at a residence in the area where the victim had been found. There were signs of a struggle and property damage, police said. Police have not identified the person who made the call.

After viewing the Facebook video, they determined the victim was the man found on the street -- and the people arrested were involved, police said.

Police said the victim might have been with the suspects for at least 24 hours.

"If you're arguing with an idiot, make sure he isn't doing the same thing."

"...The disturbing 30-minute video shows a man tied up and his mouth covered, cowering in the corner of a room. His attackers laugh and shout "f*ck Donald Trump" and "f*ck white people" as they kick and punch him.

The video shows someone cutting into his scalp with a knife, leaving a visibly bald patch...

.....He was so traumatized that it took most of the night for him to calm down so he was able to talk to police, Capt. Steven Sesso said.

The suspects, two men and two women, all 18, are in custody awaiting formal charges, which are expected to be filed Thursday.

Hate crime charges under consideration

The victim knew at least one of his accused attackers from school, Cmdr. Kevin Duffin said. Though he may have voluntarily gotten into a van with the group, police are considering kidnapping charges.

Because the victim is white and the people in the video are black, police also are investigating whether hate crime charges are appropriate, Duffin said.

"Although they are adults, they're 18. Kids make stupid decisions -- I shouldn't call them kids; they're legally adults, but they're young adults, and they make stupid decisions," Duffin said.

"That certainly will be part of whether or not ... we seek a hate crime, to determine whether or not this is sincere or just stupid ranting and raving."

It's possible the racially charged statements were little more than people "ranting about something they think might make a headline," Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said....

Now if this had been white people doing this to a black man and shouting "**** Obama" we'd be hearing this story plastered on every news channel and there would be riots in every major city with stores being vandalized!

They're going to call it a stupid decision? More like an evil act not a decision. Stupid kids with no fear of consequences, complete lack of morals, no compassion for other humans and zero respect for others.
When society coddles criminal behavior with no consequences, rule of law is non-existent. Of course this was racially motivated but liberals don't want to judge that too quickly unless it is a white on black crime, freakin hypocrites.
It is an outrageous story for this to happen to a special needs kid. Makes me ashamed of the human race.

TDF, why is this a hate crime inspired by Trump? What does he have to do with it? Is it because some people perceive him to be racist, so now they act out with violence?

The United States Constitution does not exist to grant you rights; those rights are inherent within you. Rather it exists to frame a limited government so that those natural rights can be exercised freely.

They're going to call it a stupid decision? More like an evil act not a decision. Stupid kids with no fear of consequences, complete lack of morals, no compassion for other humans and zero respect for others.
When society coddles criminal behavior with no consequences, rule of law is non-existent. Of course this was racially motivated but liberals don't want to judge that too quickly unless it is a white on black crime, freakin hypocrites.
It is an outrageous story for this to happen to a special needs kid. Makes me ashamed of the human race.

TDF, why is this a hate crime inspired by Trump? What does he have to do with it? Is it because some people perceive him to be racist, so now they act out with violence?

"TDF, why is this a hate crime inspired by Trump?"

I think he was being sarcastic/ironic. The left has been saying every bad thing that's happened since election day was because of him,
and he is pointing out (as you did) that the left sure as hell isn't going to talk about the fact that in this case, this person was attacked because he is white and/or a Trump supporter. This doesn't fit the liberal narrative one bit.

these type of stories are terrible no matter what race the people are.

The United States Constitution does not exist to grant you rights; those rights are inherent within you. Rather it exists to frame a limited government so that those natural rights can be exercised freely.

Paul, I have been a member here for 15 years and contribute in many forums which you are probably unaware exist. I hope you understand my point. Sorry if my sarcasm struck a nerve.Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Anyone would have to be an idiot to say all racist/bias attacks are as a result of Trump being elected. As people have said here, it was stupid and disgusting and those idiots deserve jail for it.

Great post Paul, sincerely.

TDF made the original post, I presume, as a way to thumb his nose at the notion (and it has been a fairly widespread notion) that Trump's election has emboldened white supremacists to start attacking anyone they don't like.

Yes, there are Trump supporters who are thugs and need to be dealt with. Trump is no more responsible for that, than Obama/Hilary are for what happened in this video.

And that's the difference between our two sides. I haven't seen a single right-wing media type blame any Democratic politician for the attack in this video. But many left-wing pundits are connecting Trump to the alleged attacks carried out by his supporters (some of which have proven to be fake).

When society coddles criminal behavior with no consequences, rule of law is non-existent. Of course this was racially motivated but liberals don't want to judge that too quickly unless it is a white on black crime, freakin hypocrites.

The United States Constitution does not exist to grant you rights; those rights are inherent within you. Rather it exists to frame a limited government so that those natural rights can be exercised freely.

Of course this was racially motivated but liberals don't want to judge that too quickly unless it is a white on black crime, freakin hypocrites.
QUOTE]

I'm confused at the use of "too quickly". Do you mean people shouldn't look at all the facts bf reaching a conclusion?

Seems to me EVERONE said it was racially motivated.

Do you have any links showing where some liberals are saying it wasn't a hate crime?

I think the media is handling this one fairly.

But what Slipknot was referring to, is the tendency of liberals, to immediately claim race is a factor every single time there a white cop and a dead black civilian. Riots are caused because of this false narrative.

You also won't see white Trump voters rioting in Chicago because of this. Why is that?

You don't think your side is prone to playing the race card when there's zero evidence of racism? If not, tell that to Officer Michael Brown, who was cleared by the Obama Justice Dept of any wrong-doing, yet his career is finished.

Wow, You are nothing more than a trollPosted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Seem you did not recognize I re wording of 1 of your many drive by's

you "A new low for exploiting loss of life"

reworded A new low for exploiting the assault of the handicap.

I am shocked you would say that given the common ground you share with the culprits.

In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community example Sea Dangles